Currently, life expectancy is increasing every year, and with it the diseases that are characteristic of the elderly. Dementia is one such condition. According to statistics, there are 9 people with dementia per 100 healthy people aged 60 and over. However, it is important to understand that dementia can also be viewed in a historical context. Over time, ideas about this condition, approaches to its management, as well as the attitude of society towards patients with dementia have changed. The article describes the history of the study of dementia, which went along with the development of medicine, anatomy, neurology and psychiatry. In different historical periods, people’s understanding of the mechanisms of development, etiology and pathogenesis of this condition has changed. Ethics and deontology gradually developed, which undoubtedly played an important role in improving the life of not only patients with dementia, but also the relationship between the doctor and the patient as a whole. The main stages in the study of dementia have become the basis for the modern understanding of this condition.